Sweet Words and Harsh Actions
by Karen Hikari
Summary: It all went downwards with a question, and while someone could ask a thousand possibly tragic enquiries to the Isle children, the formulated one wasn't among the ones Jay was prepared to answer with his usual swiftness and easy-going demeanor. "Oh don't you know what he does, lover boy?" the prince inquired. "What he does when he isn't with you. How he charges for his company?"


**Okay, I want to start by saying this is not the usual sweet story I would write for these two. See, I love them both and writing this actually hurt my heart, I promise. However, we all know that the Isle could have gone way worse, and it didn't merely because it's a story for children.**

 **I'm not going to say that this little something is based in the story that I will list in a moment, but I do consider that this other fic had a great influence on me conceiving this idea, and given how it's an awesome piece of writing to read I highly encourgage you to go and give it a try. The story I'm talking about is called "Nothing in this World but Myself to Protect Me" by thatoneshippyblog. I think she leaves enough warnings in her story, so I won't add anything else on that line, but I have to say that she is one of the most amazing authors I've seen out there, not only in fanfiction sites.**

 **Now, to be honest, this idea isn't totally mine, but a friend's, although it appeared when I sent him the previous story I talked to you about, so yeah, I'm still very sure that that fic influenced him. Also, he just asked me the "What about if Cruella...?" and basically sent me to find a plot because, twisted as the idea was, it was still very good.**

 **You guys know how I usually don't write anything with a rating higher than K+, this time, however, I will raise it to a T, which might not seem like a lot, I'm aware, but I still feel in the need of letting a warning for you to know what you will be dealing with. There is child abuse in this story, and there especially is child prostitution. I'm going to take the liberty of quoting thatoneshippyblog right here: "If this is not your cup of tea, I understand". To be honest, this isn't my cup of tea either, but we've seen plenty of stories that include Carlos being bullied and physically mistreated, so why not sexually too? I mean, to be objective. So, as this theme hasn't been really... explored, to put it somehow, I decided that it was worth giving it a try.**

 **This story is not explicit, and I say "this" because more one-shots of this matter will be coming up, and the next ones will be more straightforward and outspoken, but I wanted this one to be a little more innocent.**

 **Also, and just so you know, suppousedly I had this done like a month ago, but I didn't like it. End of the story. I asked some friends their opinion and they said it was fine, but I didn't like it, I know something was missing. So I dedicated some more days of hard work and made it go from three pages long to twenty decided it was fine.**

 **With that said I also want to add that the blond prince that appears in this story is no means Chad. he's just an OC I didn't care enough about to give him a name. I'm planning a story that does include Chad with a plot along the lines of this one, but, I swear to you, the prince in this story isn't him. Also, I find the prince so annoying that, as it turned out, I despised my own creation. Guess this is how Dr. Frankenstein felt about his monster.**

 **So, thanks for reading until now and I really hope you enjoy the following story!**

* * *

 ** _Sweet Words and Harsh Actions_**

* * *

It all went downwards with a question, and while someone could ask a thousand awkward and possibly tragic enquiries to the Isle children, the one that was actually formulated wasn't among the ones Jay was prepared to answer with his usual swiftness and easy-going demeanor.

They were making their way through one of Auradon Prep gardens, not holding hands, but close enough so that someone could think they were from afar.

It had been a nice day. They still had Auradon's stupid classes and subjects, but all in all, they didn't complain, they couldn't complain when, assignments and all, Auradon was so many times better when compared to the Isle. On the other hand, they also had a couple more reasons to be happier than usual, as they had started dating earlier that month.

Honestly, Jay didn't even remember what they had been talking about, but it all came to be of no importance when one of the older boys, a blond prince with a cocky smile approached them.

"So, dog boy, now that you finally found a mate are your prices going to rise?" he mocked with a contemptuous smirk.

For a moment, Jay almost started laughing because this, this whole scene was so bizarre it was almost funny, but the way in which Carlos stiffened and practically hid behind him stopped him from doing so.

"What?" he managed with a furrowed brow.

"Oh don't you know what he does, lover boy?" the prince inquired. For all answer, Jay could only send a worried glance in Carlos' direction. "He hasn't he told you what he does when you are not with him, has he?" the Auradonian continued, gesturing to take one of Carlos' locks in his right hand but desisting when he caught a glimpse of Jay's murderous gaze. Contemptuous as he felt, these were people who had actually lived in the Isle of the Lost and he didn't want to risk his skin just for a few laughs. "How he _charges_ for his company?"

 _Hold on there_ , Jay thought, feeling for a second as if they weren't talking the same language. _What?_ This is to say, he _understood_ euphemisms, knew how useful they could be, but this… there was something so monstrous about the hidden meaning of the prince's words that Jay nearly felt nauseous.

"Stop it" the son of Jafar spat in a voice dangerously low. Not surprisingly the little prince stepped back almost in a reflex gesture.

"Oh, you understood, didn't you?" the blond boy replied calmly, a lazy grin splattered across his lips. "And you don't like what you heard".

"Well, I don't like a lot of things" Jay said, forcing himself to take a deep breath before continuing. "But you're quickly becoming one of the things I _despise_. Now, listen to me, you sneaky jerk, if I hear you, or any of your eyesore friends for the matter repeat what you just said I'll assure that you will pray to be sent to the Isle just to get rid of me, did I make myself clear?" he hissed through his bared teeth.

"Oh, you did, you did" the older boy muttered, raising his hands in surrender, although that didn't erase the stupid smirk from his face. "However, that doesn't make what I just said a lie" he chanted.

For a moment, Jay considered to not wait for anything else and plainly beat that smile, along with that _I'm better than everyone_ attitude out of the perfect features of that prince, but something stopped him―instead of denting, instead of jumping in surprise or shock, all Carlos did was hunch over himself and bit his lower lip.

Deciding he was not going to act in idiocy before even knowing what in the world was going on the son of Jafar took Carlos by his left wrist and, almost dragging the younger boy, he headed to their dorm. As they turned he could still _feel_ the burning disdain in the prince's features scalding into their backs as the turned the first corner.

As soon as he closed the door behind the, Jay turned on his heels, hoping to meet Carlos' eyes and laugh about this whole rubbish, to see the boy brush it off. Hoping for a proof that what he thought he had _understood_ in the prince's words wasn't true―which was not what happened in the least.

Fidgeting slightly, his orbs focused on the ground a little too stubbornly for the son of Jafar's taste and still chewing on his lower lip, Carlos de Vil stood in the hall-like space both beds in the room left.

"Carlos, c'mon, you know how these princes are, thinking everyone else is under them. Don't think too much about it" Jay offered, trying to catch a glimpse of Carlos' eyes, but the boy only cowered further. "I mean he's kidding, Carlos, don't listen to him" he muttered, feeling his heartbeat raise when the son of Cruella didn't answer with a shy smile or a roll of his eyes.

Unable to hold it anymore he gripped Carlos by the shoulders, shaking him a little when the boy still refused to meet gazes with him.

"He was kidding, right Carlos? Right?" he repeated. Only then did he notice the silent tears that had started falling from the boy's dark orbs and rolled into the ground.

"I… I…" the son of Cruella tried, bracing himself as his whole body started shaking in violent sobs. "He wasn't… What he said wasn't―"

"Carlos, Carlos, look at me. You can't be saying that…" Jay managed, his hands letting go of the son of Cruella and dropping to his sides. As for himself, the younger boy replied by denying with his head.

"I… in the Isle things were… different" he attempted to explain. Jay actually snorted. _Really, this was what Carlos had to say on the matter?_ "Cruella… Cruella needed the money and she used to let others… I mean, if they could pay, she didn't… she didn't really care" he managed, before violent sobs forced him to stop.

And the tables turned once more and left Jay feeling like an idiot. Again. Because Carlos couldn't mean what he thought he meant, could he? Carlos couldn't… Cruella wouldn't have…

Except that Cruella was very capable of what he could understand under the euphemisms and incomplete sentences, and the people in the Isle ―and in Auradon, apparently― were not above what he thought Carlos had just said.

He was so going to kill that harpy if he ever saw her again.

"Carlos… What are you―? Jeez" Jay muttered, turning to the wall just he didn't have to see the broken expression in Carlos' face, in an attempt to _understand_. He didn't even notice he had slammed his fist on the perfect blue painting of the wall until the numb pain in his hand caught his attention.

Truth was, maybe he didn't really want to grasp what his friend was talking about, he realized when as soon as he connected the words in his mind all he felt was a boiling rage―same that evaporated as he stopped to listen Carlos's whimpers, replaced by a burning worry.

"I… I'm sorry" the son of Cruella let out clumsily, trying to wipe the tears of his eyes and get a hold of himself. "I… When we got here… I just… I couldn't… forget… I'm sorry…"

"She couldn't― I can't believe it" Jay managed, mixing hurt and anger and impotence in his voice. "I can't even… I can't believe it".

"I'm sorry, Jay, I swear I didn't― I'm trying but I… I can't" Carlos repeated, only to renew his crying, harder this time. "I know this isn't… I know it's wrong, but I just… It's my fault… I'm so sorry".

"You had sex with them?" Jay let out, much bluntly that he would be proud of later on, when he dwelled on what he had just said, suddenly feeling calm, much calmer than he had felt ever since their encounter with the prince.

"Jay…" the son of Cruella pleaded, biting his lower lip in anticipation, too scared to even blush.

"Answer me, Carlos!" the son of Jafar ordered, gripping the younger boy from the shoulders and shaking him, not even caring to note the terrified expression of his friend.

"Yes! Yes, I did" he finally admitted, first in a shout that soon became a shameful statement said with a trembling voice.

The words hit the son of Jafar with the same strength of a blow, shaking him out of the calm the sickly anticipation had pushed him too. His hands, suddenly too fidgety left Carlos' shoulders and fell to his flanks, only to fly to the sides of his head soon after as he turned around, giving Carlos his profile.

"I can't believe it" Jay muttered, too stunned to be able to manage anything else.

"Jay, please, listen to me―I… I'm sorry" Carlos begged, stepping forward hesitantly in an attempt to reach for the older boy's arm, only to have his hand jerked away. "You have to believe me, I didn't… I didn't…"

"I can't believe it" Jay repeated, already heading to the door of the room, not aware of the muffled sobs of his friend, who had now resigned to not following him. He needed to get out, he needed to flee, to run, to punch something. He needed to kill someone, and the thought frightened him, because never before, not during his time in the Isle, not when Chad had treated Evie meanly had he felt the desire to _murder_ , to kill, to maim and rejoice in the suffering of his victim.

Sure, he _had_ caused pain before, and he had fought in the bazar, in the streets of the isle―but this was different. Until then, he hadn't enjoyed his deeds, he'd acted out of mere reflexes―flee or fight. To kill or be killed. This was different. This time he wanted to hurt, to maim, to kill. And he wanted to enjoy it, to feel his opponent's blood tainting his fists with no second thoughts, he wanted to leave knowing that the person he had fought against wouldn't be able to abandon the scene of the dispute like he did.

And it scared him, not only because it was new and he had never liked changes, but because now, after months and months of living in Auradon and the Fairy Godmother's lessons he _knew_ that such darkened thoughts were wrong and poisonous. That knowledge, though, didn't ease the tight knot in his gut or the desire to carry out his purpose.

He needed to leave that room, to breathe, to calm down. He needed… needed to think, to get a hold of himself, to manage his shit together.

It was in that sorry state in which he stumbled upon Mal, Evie and Ben. True to be said, that was mere coincidence, they just happened to be on his way as he directed to the woods or to the tourney camp or to… Alright, he wasn't heading anywhere, but he didn't want to meet with them either.

On the other hand, one glare in his direction and Evie knew something was terribly wrong, knew it with every bit of certainty she needed to not let him go. And, of course, Mal was too busy to notice him, and she wouldn't have, if not for the daughter of the Evil Queen, whom she trusted enough to believe when the blue-haired princess said something was out of place.

Although, and to be honest, with how _murderous_ he looked Jay would later dwell on how was it possible that no one else seemed surprised with his aspect. Perhaps the two former villainesses were the only ones brave enough to near him at the time.

"What in the world is going on?" Mal started, making it her duty to stand in front of him to block his way, with Evie and Ben at either of his sides for further security.

"Mal, I'm fine. Move" he hissed through gritted teeth, only to have the daughter of Maleficent raise a stoic eyebrow at him.

"Oh, really?" she mocked, both her hands on her hips. "Then why doesn't it seem so?"

"Mal. _Move_ " he ordered once more, his hands already curled into fists without him even registering the action. Unimpressed, the purple-haired girl merely stood her ground.

Sending a worried glance to Mal, Evie gestured that it was her turn to try something in a kinder way than the daughter of Maleficent was using.

"Jay, we're worried" she offered, stepping forward to reach for Jay's right arm. This time, the son of Jafar didn't shake it off. " We know something's off, okay? We just want to know what it is so we can help you out. Simple as that, alright?"

Her words didn't lessen the tension in the boy's body in the least, though they were enough to make him let go of a breath he wasn't even conscious he'd been holding ever since leaving his room.

"Jay, please. We want to help you" Evie tried once more, stepping closer, a little too much than she'd dared before arriving to Auradon, a little too much than he'd permitted had it not been she.

Had Jay allowed himself to be honest, he would have said that, even if the reflexes he'd grown in the isle urged to despise her actions, he'd always admired how Evie had learned the ways of Auradon sooner than any other of them, choosing to _feel_ and understand emotions instead of merely blocking them out so she could pretend they didn't exist.

Evie was being honest, Jay told himself, her delicate hand placed on top of his arm was a gesture of genuine support, the steady inflection of her voice that tried to ground him, the way she chewed on her lower lip, thinking as much as she could to prevent saying the wrong words from coming out her mouth―it all was sincere.

She was worried, she wanted to help him, to get involved in a problem that wasn't hers but that she wanted to make her business plainly because it was bothering him. And oh, once she knew what it was…

Shooting one last glance in Mal's direction, just to confirm that the same concerned gleam shone in her eyes, Jay sighed.

"I… Cruella is a harpy" he managed through gritted teeth.

"Preferably say something we don't know" the daughter of Maleficent nearly snapped, the knowledge that something was wrong mixed with impotence taking away her last bit of patience.

"You don't understand" Jay continued, not even bothered by the girl's rude acting. "She is way worse than we ever knew. She… I've just discovered... She used to let… Carlos…"

Had Mal not known better, she would have asked the son of Jafar to speak louder, but she had thieved around with Jay long enough to know that when he started mumbling something was so fucked up she probably didn't want to know what it was anyways, so instead of saying anything she limited herself to strain and try to understand as much as she could, making up the parts that she couldn't, which this time came out to be 'Touch him', 'Other men' and 'I'm gonna kill her'.

To be honest, Mal had never considered herself well versed when it came to conclusions. Point number one, things like that were bound to cause confusions, and more importantly, she wasn't patient enough to listen to vague things when it was easier to say what needed to be said right then and there, with no circumlocution, with no beat around the bush.

This time, though, not even her, not even the cut-short sentences of Jay could make her miss the hidden meaning of the boy's words. Evie, closer to the son of Jafar than her seemed to have caught more of his words and looked way more alarmed than Mal, whose features still mixed confusion and curiosity.

"What?" she managed, stepping back. "She did… _what_?" Jay merely shrugged, eyes turned to the ground. "I mean, the Isle is messed up but this…? Rape? We should have known!"

For once in her life, the first and she hoped last time in her existence, Mal didn't enjoy the feeling of having the reason. Oh no, far from that her gut tightened and an uneasy feeling that made her voice quiver.

 _Shit_ , she thought. This wasn't happening.

"You have to be joking, Jay, this isn't funny!" she commanded, all her self-control not being able to stop her from fidgeting with her fingers.

"Do I fucking look like I'm joking, Mal!" Jay screamed more than asked, raising his eyes to meet Mal's horrified gaze.

"Now you know" Ben said quietly next to the purple-haired girl, stopping the two former thieves from jumping on each other's throats out of pure frustration without even knowing, his brown eyes focused on his hands.

"What?" Mal breath out shakily, turning on her heels to face the prince almost in slow motion, her movements becoming way too fast once she caught glimpse of his guilty expression as she gripped him by the shoulders. "Benjamin Florian, you _knew_?"

"Mal, I―"

"You _what_?" Evie and Jay interrupted him, the girl's voice near raging while the son of Jafar's was only a quiet accusation.

"You knew this was up and you didn't tell us?" Mal continued in disbelief. To put it objectively, the daughter of Maleficent wasn't a tall person. Maleficent herself wasn't over the average height. But right then and there, with gleaming eyes and a raging expression, the petite girl certainly wasn't someone anyone in his right mind would have wanted to deal with. Had he not known better, Jay himself would have stepped back, so he really couldn't blame Ben for cowering a little, all etiquette forgotten.

"He asked me not to" the prince explained. "Mal, this was something that he needed to do with you guys, it would have been unfair from me to let you know without his consent and―"

"So you figured it was for the best that we knew nothing as if we were idiots?" she inquired, not a bit less fuming

"Mal…" Ben tried one last time, before seeing himself interrupted by the son of Jafar.

"Oh, but that's not the best because, you know what?" Jay continued, his voice loud enough once more as he gestured madly, jerking away from Evie's hand to make a fuss that included all of Auradon Prep's gardens, Auradon completely. "He continued doing it here, now that she wasn't there to force him anymore, because―!"

"Because he didn't know what else to do!" Evie cut him, suddenly turning defensive.

"That's not an excuse to―"

"Jay, listen" the girl muttered, forcing herself to breathe evenly because there was no good in everyone going hysteric, especially not when she wasn't sure of what Jay and Mal could have done in their state. Neither was she sure that she could stop them, if things were to go wrong. "When you arrived here you continued stealing for a while, remember? You knew it was wrong, you knew you had to stop, but you just couldn't, am I right?" she inquired, ignoring him when he wanted to reply something. "It's still hard now, sometimes, isn't it?"

"Yes, but this is a whole―"

"What I mean" she cut him, sending him a meaningful glare. "Is that the same goes for Carlos and for all of us. He's done this for a long time and he doesn't know any better. He's aware that he has to stop because it hurts him but he can't find out how to do that, okay?"

"That doesn't change the fact that he―"

"Jay, try to understand" she added softly, just before that raging need to protect her friend was back to her. "Where is he?"

"Evie―"

"Jay, where is he?" she cut him, a little too sternly.

"Our dorm" he admitted, unable to hold her gaze.

"You just left him there?" she inquired, raising her hands in the air. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe you!" she muttered, her words not as much of an accusation as they were a plea for understanding. And with that she was gone, her graceful figure lost shortly after in the crowd of Auradonian students, too full of themselves to even stop to notice their distressed expressions.

Now that they found themselves without the even presence of the princess a dull silence fell over them, giving them a time that they didn't want to muse over thought that they didn't enjoy.

"How did you found out again?" Mal inquired in a quiet voice now that her blood wasn't boiling, turning to look at a hunched over Jay.

"I… there was an incident with a prince today I... I don't even remember what happened" Jay admitted, his ponderings too caught up on Evie's previous words to notice how Mal's own voice sounded tired.

"A prince, above everything" she spat with a twisted smile.

"What do you mean?" Jay inquired, raising his eyes to meet hers.

"I mean these things are not supposed to happen in Auradon" the daughter of Maleficent let out sarcastically, her mockery not enough to mask the pain of a knowledge she was better without. "And yet they still do".

"Mal…" Ben tried in a quiet voice, reaching for her left shoulder. Surprisingly, she either didn't took note of the gesture or didn't feel like jerking away that little comfort, mad as she was at the prince.

"What?" she replied bluntly. "It's true. In the Isle I understand, but here? This shouldn't have happened".

And just like that, a silence filled with impotence and numbing realization was back, too heavy to shrug it off, too real to ignore.

"It's him" the son of Jafar suddenly blurted out, snapping the other two out of their trance.

"What are you talking about?" Mal inquired tiredly.

"That's the prince we encountered" Jay continued, pointing to a group of Auradonians that were a little too busy laughing to note their silent gathering.

"The blond one?" Mal replied, narrowing her gleaming eyes. When Jay nodded a warning smile made its way to her lips. "Then I guess we need to have a couple of words".

"Oh dear" Ben said, voicing Jay's thoughts as they both tried to catch up with the girl, who was already standing in front of the prince, the two other friends he'd been laughing with intimidated by her mere presence.

"Hello dear prince" Mal started, her voice too sweet, too charming, especially with how madly her eyes shone. Honestly, she wasn't furious, she wasn't feeling murderous. Not yet anyways. Oh no, far from that she felt calm, in control. For once since Jay's appearance she knew what to do. "I understand you've had some… _dealings_ with a friend of mine? Carlos? Not very tall? Not very intelligent either, it seems?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" the prince managed, sending a pleading glare in Ben's direction, same that the son of Belle decided to ignore.

"Oh, think again" Mal proposed, blinking her emerald eyes playfully in a way Jay had seen Evie do countless times, but never the daughter of Maleficent. "I have the feeling that you boys shouldn't be trusted with this kind of things. You see, Benjamin Florian here forgot to say something important. And Jay is here despite how he has some things to do somewhere else. For your own good, think again".

"I… I never forced him" the prince offered, too frightened by her mere glare to even think of standing his ground anymore.

"Thought you've never seen him?" she inquired, widening her smile and tilting her head. "See what I'm saying? You boys, always forgetting important stuff".

"He _asked_ for it. If I had known that you―"

"Oh, I know. As I was saying, sometimes boys do stupid things. I know it wasn't your fault" she assured, placing both her hands on the prince's shoulders, although her fingers didn't curl around the fabric of his clothes like claws, but instead smoothed out the textile. "That's why I need to ask a favor from you. You seem to be intelligent enough to carry it out, right? Especially if you like walking with no crutches".

And then she smiled, winking her right eye as if she hadn't just spat out a threat, as if she had just politely asked for the weather.

Jay had seen her on a full rage before, and this wasn't how she looked. She wasn't getting ready for a fight, she wasn't baring her teeth in anticipation of a confrontation. She was plainly speaking, a little too charmingly, a little too overly sweetly, having chosen that psychological fear was a much better torture than just a few broken bones. It also earned her trouble.

"You see" Mal continued, oblivious to Jay's amazement. Suddenly, her sweet expression turned stormy and she pursed her lips in despise before speaking again. "Carlos won't be _working_ anymore".

"How do you know that?" the blond prince let out, a little shakily, but still the son of Jafar had to recognize him for speaking when Mal looked like that. He especially had to take in a count how he managed a cocky smile even then.

"Oh, because I have magic and because if you, or any of your _friends_ near him with ill intentions hell is going to raise and you don't want to see that happening, do you?" she replied, recovering her charming façade.

"Yes, but how do you―"

"Nimieties" the purple-haired girl cut him. "Carlos made a mistake, as we all do, and we vouch that he's not going to make it again, don't we, Jay?" she inquired, to what the son of Jafar could only nod vaguely. "So, you know how I'm new here and all" Mal continued, turning to the prince again. "I need you to let everyone know this. It's simple, see? You tell them that my friends services are over, and I leave you alone and walking. Seems hard? No it doesn't, right?" she offered, blinking her eyes several times, as if to make the prince believe that the reason he was so terrified only by her glare was her eyes alone and not the green magic that surrounded them.

"Mal―"

"Maleficent" she cut him with a playful smile that only widened when the prince in front of him visibly fidgeted. "My complete name is Maleficent. Only my closest friends call me Mal. You know, I don't get a lot about nicknames yet, but I've figured that I shouldn't be called a diminutive by someone I dislike, am I right? Now if you could please go and take care of what I asked for…" she hinted, letting her unsaid menace hang in the air before the prince decided to let go of the last strands of his dignity and obey her.

Taking a few seconds to rejoice in how easy it was to make the Auradonians run as if there was no tomorrow, Mal finally turned to face the boys, raising an eyebrow when she found Jay still standing there.

"What are you doing here? Thought you would be in your dorm, you know, getting your shit together by now?" she said, her voice much like the one a teacher that had found a student during a mischief would use.

"Mal, I―" he started, but as all answer the daughter of Maleficent merely crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at him with eyes that said 'I don't care, you go and do what I asked you to', and quite honestly, Jay had to admit that he was as tempted as that make-fun-of a prince to see her mad. "I'm leaving" he nodded, before he, too, left the couple to their own devices, hearing a last 'Now, Benjamin Florian, you have some _explaining_ to do'.

Sincerely, with how Mal had been spreading terror in Auradon that day…

—*—*—

As soon as Evie let the group she made her way through the corridors she'd trained herself to know and soon enough she was standing in front of the boy's dorm, taking a last deep breath before daring step into the room. She didn't bother with knocking. In the state she could picture Carlos being after what had happened the boy probably wouldn't care to answer anyways.

Said and done, the son of Cruella didn't even raise his head as she entered the room, that if he had at least listened the door opening, although Evie highly doubted it.

He was lying in bed, absentmindedly scratching Dude's ears, his back turned to the door, the room almost too still, too quiet, as he had cried himself dried long ago.

"Go away" he mumbled, just a whisper, proving that he _had_ heard the door, to what Evie couldn't help but smile shyly, even if he couldn't see the gesture.

"It's me" she offered, not listening to his muffled protests as she took a seat next to him, making a startled Dude jump to the ground.

"I know. Go away" he repeated, having had recognized the way her soft footsteps made its way to his room. Seriously, anyone born and raised in the Isle of the Lost couldn't miss that, no matter the emotional stress he was under.

"Carlos, I… Jay told us" Evie explained quietly, deciding against circumlocution now that she was there. She owned that to the boy, at least.

"So now you know how much a fuck up I am" he replied, unamused, even if his voice was still tainted with more hurt than he felt like admitting,

"Carlos, don't say that" she ordered, allowing her voice to turn sterner as she finally succumbed to the impulse she'd felt since crossing the doorstep and slowly drew her arms around the boy's shoulders. "It isn't true".

"Oh but it is! You didn't see Jay's face when he left, how he―"

"You bet we saw him" she cut him softly. "And she looked murderous, but to be honest, so did Mal and I" she added before Carlos had the chance of asking who 'we' meant. "Though he wasn't mad at you, but rather at himself and at your mother".

"How do you know that?" Carlos managed, rolling his eyes in frustration because _why couldn't Evie understan_ d? "You didn't see him! He's right!"

"Carlos, listen, you made a mistake, big deal" Evie replied, making a tiny fuss with her hands, her voice raising just before her tone became forgiving again. "We all make mistakes. You didn't ask what happened to you and it's not your place to take responsibility for it, okay? It was Cruella's fault, not yours, and you need to stop thinking that, for your own good. I know it's hard. Forgetting the isle is hard, I get that, but you need to try at least".

"Evie, you don't get it. I… I don't control it" he muttered, hiding his face in the crook of the girl's neck in surrender.

"I do, I promise" she whispered back, running her long fingers through the boy's hair. "It's hard for all of us too just... in different levels. I'll tell you a secret―the first thing I still do in the morning is apply my makeup. And I shouldn't, because there are tons of things to do, important things, but a part of me is still expecting my mother to appear and start nagging at me because of how I look".

"Evie…" Carlos tried, but she only shook her head to brush him away.

"No, you listen to me―she's not coming, not anymore. And neither is your mother" she added softly, staring right into the boy's eyes.

"I... I've been acting like an idiot" he offered her, turning to the blue cover of the bed.

"I know that" Evie nodded, allowing herself a coy smile. "But that can be fixed. You need to speak with Jay, too".

"Evie, not now. Please" he near begged. "When he left he was basically withholding himself of beating me up".

"Don't joke around with such a thing" the girl cut him, her expression growing stormy once again.

"I'm not joking! He… he must hate me now after what I did!"

"He doesn't hate you, Carlos, c'mon! Stop saying nonsenses!"

"How do you know that?" he nearly screamed.

"Because Jay wouldn't do such a thing, not to you. And that you know as well as I do, so stop it" she ordered, her voice holding the calm that preceded a storm.

"I know he wouldn't" Carlos managed with hands turned into fists. "But why wouldn't he, after all?"

"Because he loves you, idiot or not?" she inquired, although he wasn't listening her anymore.

"I don't deserve him, not after all I did" the boy mumbled to himself. "He's different, he's strong, he's brave, he's―"

"He's an idiot" a voice from the door offered quietly.

"Jay!" Evie and Carlos managed in unison, jumping off the bed and throwing their hands to the air as if they'd been caught stealing something. Which was a way to put it, Evie thought later with a smile, as in the isle such an image, two _friends_ caught in a hug, in a desperate attempt at comforting each other would have been treated with contempt and despise.

"Carlos, I... I need to talk to you" the son of Jafar blurted out, rather unceremoniously as his hands fidgeted with the fabric of his shirt.

"Great start" Evie conceded, with a relieved smile, heading to the door without expecting an answer and not getting one. "Now with you lovebirds busy, I'll go see if Mal hasn't killed anyone yet" she said to herself. True to tell, she was aware that they weren't listening to her anymore, but that only made her breathing to come out more evenly. They could get through this, she told herself, careful to close the door behind her as she left. They _had_ to get through it.

The daughter of the Evil Queen wasn't even out of the room when Jay had already stepped forward, not close enough to actually touch Carlos, but more than enough than the boy would have allowed him to, had he really felt threatened, which the son of Jafar took as an encouraging gesture.

"I... I'm sorry" he offered with eyes turned to the ground in something that was almost an imitation of Carlos' nervous posture. "I shouldn't have left like I did, I shouldn't― I'm sorry".

"It wasn't your fault" Carlos mumbled, not daring to meet the older boy's eyes.

"Maybe, but it wasn't yours either and I should have known better than to treat you like it was" he replied, reaching out for Carlos' shoulders but stopping mere inches away.

"It kind of is" the boy replied, and somehow, somehow his voice hid a plea, a beg to be told that such a thing _wasn't true_.

"Carlos, listen to me―it wasn't your fault, okay? You were in the wrong place in the wrong time and shit happened. Shit always happens but you didn't ask for it, so it is _not_ your fault, alright? I fucked up, too, because I'm a terrible person, so screw it, screw me, don't pay attention to what I said because I _was wrong,_ okay?"

"Jay…" the son of Cruella whispered as new tears made their way to his eyes now that he stared into the older boy's trusting orbs. "I… I'm sorry. I'm trying to leave it, I promise you, it's just that… it's hard. I... I haven't done it in a month, I swear, I… I'm tired of it".

"Since when?" Jay inquired softly, unable to ignore any longer the question that had been repeating in his head ever since the whole matter had been brought up.

"Since a month ago, when we started dating, I―"

"No, no, I get that" he interrupted. "I mean… how old were you the... the first time it happened".

"Jay…" Carlos managed with eyes wide in fear.

"Please" the older boy all but begged. "I _need_ to know that".

"I… six, eight… Jay, I don't know…" the son of Cruella whispered desperately.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" Jay blurted out because now he realized how really fucked up this whole thing was, how badly turned apart his best friend must be, how… "Shit!"

As all answer, Carlos merely bit his lips in anticipation of a punch, of a door being slammed as Jay left the room, of… but it never happened. Instead of anything that he had thought would happen, instead of anything that was _understandable_ to happen all Jay _did_ was step forward ―yes, forward and not back― so he could wrap his arms around the younger boy's lean figure.

"I'm so sorry" the son of Jafar let put with a raged breathing. "Goddamn it, I'm so sorry".

"What?" came as Carlos' muffled reply, not fully believing what had occurred.

"I should have known" was all Jay could manage. "I've known you for years, I should have at least _suspected_ something was up".

"It was probably better that way" Carlos ventured coyly.

"No shit ain't better this way" Jay nearly spat. "We need to stop it. If we want this to work out we need to talk. I can't afford to see you like this. If anything happened to you, I… If something like this, anything happens again…"

"It won't" Carlos hurried to promise.

"Still, I… I want to know, alright? I won't be mad, I swear".

"Thank you" Carlos all but whispered, and so much could be said with those two words that it was near astonishing.

Finally, after a comfortable moment of silence and staring into each other's eyes Jay dared to speak again.

"Now, we should go find Mal before something happens" he let out, breaking apart from the improvised embrace but leaving his left arm over Carlos' shoulders.

"You're the second person to say something like that. What's up with Mal?" the younger boy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"You didn't see her" Jay limited to answer before opening the door where surprisingly enough ―or not so much, if he actually stopped to think everything that had happened that day― found Evie, Mal and Ben jumbled together in the hallway.

"Oh dear" Carlos breath out upon noticing the group.

"I found them in their way here so I figured I should come too" Evie explained, although Carlos was mainly focused on the daughter of Maleficent who, had lost that murderous gleam from her eyes but still portrayed a grin that was almost sinister.

"So now all of you know" he let out, breathing heavily under Mal's gaze.

"Well, not thanks to Benjamin Florian here, but yeah, pretty much" the daughter of Maleficent conceded.

"Here we go again, I already apologized!" Ben said behind her, throwing his hands to the air in surrender, even when he knew the girl wasn't even mad at him anymore and merely enjoyed torturing him. "Dude, I get why you didn't want to tell them".

"You still lied!" Mal counterattacked. "I mean, I can expect that from one of us, but from you Auradonians…"

"I didn't lie, I omitted information" Ben clarified.

"Still lying!"

"It isn't. Besides, I have the decency to not be throwing someone's disliked second name at their face!"

"Well, you earned it, Benjamin Florian, I can't help it" the daughter of Maleficent justified, shrugging with a friendlier smile. "Now, as for you, I'm glad to see you've sorted out your differences" she offered, turning to Jay and Carlos, still grinning.

"Unlike others" Jay muttered under his breath, managing to at least force a shy smile to Carlos' lips, which was enough to make Mal's glare in his direction worth it.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, nothing!" he replied mischievously, raising his hands in surrender.

"Guys" Evie piped in. "Although I hate to interrupt your little discussion, I feel in the responsibility of informing you that we are like forty minutes late to our last period".

"E, classes last fifty minutes" Mal replied sternly.

"Precisely" the blue-haired girl shrugged.

"Damn it! The Fairy Godmother will throw a fuss over this!" Jay offered from behind them.

"What's the punishment for arriving late again?" Carlos asked, turning to Ben.

"Detention" the prince limited to respond.

"Seriously, we come here, survive Auradon, and our first detention is for arriving late to a class?" the daughter of Maleficent argued.

"Well, we were with the king, which has to count for something, right?" Jay wondered aloud.

"Yes it does" Ben conceded, as they started walking. "You'll still be with me in detention".

"I can't believe you guys" Evie lamented, walking a little faster.

"C'mon, E, you love us!" Jay offered, jumping to his side as he circled her shoulders playfully, slowing down her long strides.

"Let me go! I have to get there earlier than you!" the princess argued before bursting into laughter and letting the former thief do.

Taking advantage of Jay's new occupation bothering Evie, Mal let her own steps become slower until she was walking next to Carlos, merely inches away from him for a couple of minutes until she finally dared say anything.

"Can I speak with you?" she questioned, trying to sound kinder, nicer than she usually did, as if to not be perceived as a threat. Sincerely, it didn't matter that Carlos had known her for years, with all that had happened she wouldn't have been bothered if he felt intimidated by her.

On Carlos' side, though, all the son of Cruella could think was that such a thing was bound to happen. To put it simply, he'd already had 'The Talk' with Evie and Jay so it was just natural that now that all this issue was out in the open Mal had her own opinions on the matter so, instead of giving his permission for her to continue aloud he merely shrugged.

And instead of all the coherent things Mal could have said, instead of menacing him, of shouting at him, of listing his mistakes, all she actually _did_ was carefully draw her left arm around his shoulders as they continued walking.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a low voice because, really, that was all she actually cared about.

"Sorry?" Carlos inquired, too confused to process her words.

"That prince, he didn't hurt you, did he?" Mal continued, ignoring him when Carlos tried to interrupt him. "Because I left him with a threat but I can go back right now and beat the crap out of him".

"Mal…"

"I'm being serious" she clarified, although there wasn't need for such a thing. Truth to be said there was something so terribly blunt in her words and her expression, something so rawly genuine in the tone of her voice that, threatening as her message was, it was still heart-warming. "He touches you, you tell me".

"I'm fine, guys, really" he attempted one last time, even if the words still tasted a little hollow to him.

"I'm going to choose to believe you but with a condition" Mal offered, deciding that Jay and Evie could throw a fuss all they wanted but she was going for the blatant truth. "No more secrets. From now on, no more secrets because they don't take us anywhere".

"You're wrong there, you see" Carlos replied with a smile. "They took us to detention today" when Mal only raised an unimpressed eyebrow in his direction he only shrugged. "But you're right, we're not going any further with secrets so…"

"That's better" she nodded with a smile that she hadn't quite noticed had climbed to her lips.

"So, now you threatened a prince, huh?" he continued now that the tone of the conversations wasn't as serious. "Guess old habits never die after all".

"It's so easy to scare theses idiots that it's literally not even funny anymore" Mal shrugged, but no matter how fed up her voice sounded, she was smiling, and that was enough to make Carlos smile as well.

Because, after all, that was what they had―each other, if only that, and even when the thought of being protected by someone with no ulterior motives was still so foreign, that didn't make it less comforting. And he wouldn't trade that for the world, Carlos thought, finally daring to lean on Mal's left shoulder as Miss La Bouff nagged at them and ―quite predictably, to be honest― sent the five of them to detention.

Who knew, perhaps it was time he started believing the ones who treated him with sweet words instead of harsh actions.

* * *

 **I decided to cut my previously note because it seemed like a drabble all by itself, so here you have what I couldn't put up there.**

 **I realized that what I was missing on my first draft was the intervention of Evie, Mal and Ben because, let's face it, they are a little family that is still learning how to be functional. If you didn't notice, I had a lot of fun working with the two girls and making them leaders because, c'mon, it's just so sweet to have them around! I especially enjoyed working with a Mal that was there being sarcastic and protecting.**

 **Now, thank you very much for managing to read until now! I really hope that you actually enjoyed this story! And if you did, please know that I will be participating on the Jaylos week, which will go from July 18 to July 23, and a story with a similar theme (and I have to say from right now: one that is more explicit than this one) will be uploaded.**

 **Once again, thank you very, very much and please let me know in your comments what you think about this little something! Read you soon! ;)**


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